In the Face of High Costs, DIYers Hope to Brew Their Own Insulin

The Future of Medicine

The pharmaceutical industry is ripe for disruption. In the coming decades, drugs might be produced in very different settings. Hospitals have already begun plans to make their own medicines. DIY biologists could provide patients with the knowledge needed to produce for themselves the drugs their lives depend on.

As the industry and regulatory agencies gain more experience with biologic drugs, it is also possible regulations will ease up, lowering the cost of approval. This would enable the emergence of small-scale drug manufacturers that could provide off-brand drugs at a lower cost.

One thing is certain, the future of medicine will not be “business as usual.” Biomanufacturing technologies will continue to evolve. These changes could enable decentralized production of life-saving drugs. How the regulatory system and pharmaceutical industry will adjust to that future is yet to be determined.